It was a dramatic day of hockey at the Olympics Games Paris 2024 on 4 August, as the men’s quarter-finals saw triumph and heartbreak as only Spain, India, Germany, and the Netherlands progressed to the semi-finals.
Notably missing from that lineup are the reigning Olympic champions Belgium, who after their first loss of the entire tournament, will no longer have a shot at defending their Olympic title.
Now in the Olympics 2024 hockey semi-final, India will play against Germany and Spain against the Netherlands.
India vs Germany:
The Indian men’s hockey team’s victory against Great Britain earned them the elusive spot in the Olympics semi-finals on Sunday. Despite playing most of the match with a man short, India managed to salvage a draw 1-1 before beating their opponents 4-2 in the penalty shootout. While India would be hoping to book their spot in the final for the first time in 44 years, beating Germany won’t be a cakewalk, especially considering that India would have to play their match with just 15 men, instead of 16.
India ranked fifth in the world, will face Germany, the four-time Olympic gold medalist and reigning FIH Hockey World Cup champions, in Tuesday’s men’s hockey semifinal at the Paris Olympics.
Germany reached the semifinals by defeating Argentina 3-2, with Gonzalo Peillat, an Olympic gold medalist with Argentina, scoring against his former team.
India vs Germany Hockey: Head-to-Head
Germany played India in the bronze medal playoff at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In a high-scoring thriller, the Indian men’s hockey team emerged victorious 5-4.
Since then, both teams played six matches, all in the FIH Pro League. India won five of these matches while Germany won only one in June this year, which was also their most recent meeting.
India, who finished on the podium for the first time in 41 years at Tokyo 2020, will be looking to add to their 12-medal tally, which includes eight golds. Germany, meanwhile, has won three gold medals at the Olympic hockey men’s tournament.
Netherlands vs Spain:
In the second quarter-final, Spain produced a masterclass in game management to end Belgium’s hopes of winning a second successive Olympic gold medal. The Netherlands became the third men’s team to reach the semi-finals, defeating Australia 2-0 to exact revenge on the side that defeated them at the same stage of the tournament at Tokyo 2020.
The Spain (Red Sticks) emerged 3-2 winners against the Tokyo 2020 champions to reach their first Olympic semi-final since Beijing 2008, where a team containing generational talents such as Pol Amat, Santi Freixa, and Edi Tubau went on to become silver medallists.
It was another fiercely contested match at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, with the large contingent of Dutch fans getting the win that they so desperately wanted thanks to goals from Duco Telgenkamp and Thijs van Dam. Telgenkamp’s superb penalty corner deflection came five minutes into the second half, with Van Dam scoring a stunning solo goal to effectively kill off the Kookaburras – who rallied hard in the latter stages – with eight minutes remaining.
Netherlands vs Spain Hockey: Head-to-Head
Netherlands and Spain have faced each other in 6 matches in Hockey World Cup tournaments. Out of these 6 games, the Netherlands have won 3 whereas Spain have come out victorious on 1 occasion.
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